In Michael Jackson's song, "Man in the Mirror," he says "If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and then make that change." That is a true for me in education. If I want to make a difference in education, I have to be willing to try something new and to go a different direction. Therefore, I will reflect on my week as a teacher and my views about education. This blog is all about EDCAMP!
I hate to use this word, surreal, because it has been used too much; however, it felt surreal for two reasons. For one, I attended the camp with two of my former students who are now my colleagues. I taught them when they were in 9th grade almost fifteen years ago. Also, recognizing people who I follow on twitter was an amazing experience. My regret is that I didn't have enough time to meet everyone.
Now, let me discuss the sessions that I attended. The first session, "Ask the Students," not only gave teachers the opportunity to ask students about school, but it also let the students voice their opinions. They discussed how time management was a problem, that procrastination was a common occurrence, and the importance of finding your passion. As they were discussing these issues, I was thinking about the importance of time management skills at the college level, how to construct my curriculum to fit the interests of my students, and the benefits of helping students create a possible career path. Encouraging students to voice their ideas and opinions is an important part of school because it gives them ownership in their educational experiences. What if we asked them what they wanted to learn about and guided them down the path to take?
"Blogger to Blogging" was my second session. I listened to the expert Oklaed bloggers discuss why and how they started blogging. I believe that Jason James said to find your passion and write about it. My passion will always be about education, and that will never change. During the discussions, I thought about some ideas to incorporate blogging into my curriculum. I tweeted "Have students reflect on what they have read or argue for or against something." My plan is to require my students to blog about what they have learned in a class or about a current event and discuss about it in class. As Kelly Anglley once said, "If students can discuss about it, they can write about it." I want my students to realize that they can make a difference, and blogging would give them the opportunity to voice their opinions.
"Rocks vs. Sucks" was the third session I attended. I could use this with my students when debating current event issues or an idea from a literary piece. However, I was not able to give my opinion about why I thought homework rocks, so here it is! Time management homework assignments are important because in college they have those type of assignments to complete. They have to make deadlines! They need practice and lots of it. Giving students a couple of days to read a few chapters in a book is a homework assignment. They could be ready for discussions using the flipped classroom style. Meaningless homework that does not relate to a "real-world" concept should not even be considered. If it is used correctly, homework rocks!
The last session was about how to become an advocate for education. I will work on this starting today. If we do not speak up, then we will be only robots in the classroom. If I want my students to have a voice in any issue, then I better show them how I do it. "If I want to make a difference in education, I better step up and make that change!"
I loved reading about your learning. I also want to use the rocks v sucks model for debate in my room.
ReplyDeleteWe've had lots of great discussions, so I know we both can blog about them! If students can talk about it, they can write about it! I learned that through LETRS training.